Arianna Huffington is an author, columnist and TV personality who has
been a brilliant public gadfly for decades. She is a former Republican
who has evolved into a compassionate and progressive populist. Her
thinking on social problems is consistently fresh and original. In fact,
most people say that she is impossible to categorize or pigeonhole,
transcending the traditional "liberal" and "conservative" labels.

From Compassionate Conservative to Progressive Populist

Before the term was even coined, Arianna was the archetypal
"compassionate conservative." She was calling for less government,
while personally volunteering with community-based groups. But in
soup kitchens and homeless shelters, she saw first-hand that many
problems are too big to solve with charity and volunteerism alone. Over
time, she evolved into what could be called a "compassionate
progressive," gifted with a special ability to see solutions beyond the old
liberal-conservative dichotomy.

Why She Will Be a Great Governor

Arianna has been an active political thinker and leader all her life. She
understands both the Right and the Left intimately. She knows the
establishment and the outsiders. And, most importantly, she was not a
part of making the present mess in Sacramento. She is the ideal person,
a woman uniquely qualified to help lead California through the present
crisis.

Her Birthplace And Background

Arianna Stasinopoulos was born 53 years ago in Athens, Greece, to
intensely political parents. As a young man, her father joined the
resistance to the German occupation of Greece by editing an
underground newspaper. He was caught, and spent the rest of the war in
a German concentration camp. Her mother, whose family had fled Russia
during the revolution, had a passion for cooking and learning. (Arianna
has humorously compared her mom to the mother character in the hit
movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.) Arianna moved to the United States in
1980 with her mother, who lived with Arianna until her death three years
ago. Formerly married to Michael Huffington, the businessman and
former GOP congressman, Arianna Huffington now lives in Los Angeles
with her two daughters.